Page 7 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

I turn my attention to her mouth. I don’t know of any spell that could seal somebody’s mouth like that, but whoever hurt Vivienne obviously didn’t want her talking in the afterlife. That in itself could be a clue. Did the killer know Tristan would be able to communicate with her? If so, that means the killer has been watching everyone connected to Vivienne, and that’s incredibly worrying. Tristan could be in danger.

I’m just about to pick up the next book when my phone vibrates in my pocket. Wondering if it’s Sam, I pull it out quickly, but when I look at the screen, my heart sinks.

It’s my dads.

The last thing I want is for them find out Vivienne was murdered. They were worried enough about me moving to London in search of my past. Dad in particular is going to freak out when he finds out what happened, but I’m not sure I can lie to them. I never have before.

They’ll only worry if I start dodging their calls, so I take a deep breath and hit connect, grateful it’s not a video call. I don’t think I’d be able to hide the look on my face.

I clear my throat. “Hi, Dad,” I greet, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says excitedly. “You’ll never guess where we are right now!”

For one awful, stomach-dropping moment, I wonder if they’re standing on my doorstep, but then his voice is drowned out by the loud blare of some sort of horn. Not a car horn, something much louder.

“Sorry, Dad, what was that?”

“I said, we’re at Southampton.”

“What are you doing at Southampton?” I ask in confusion.

“You’ll never guess!” I can hear the smile in his voice, and for a moment, his obvious happiness eases the tightness in my chest. “Go on, guess! No, actually don’t guess. I’ll tell you.” His excitement is almost tangible. “Your Pop has only gone and booked us on a round-trip cruise to the Caribbean for our anniversary! Well, I know it’s not our anniversary yet, but we’ll be away to celebrate it. He’s so sneaky! I don’t know how he managed to convince the surgery to let me have the time off.”

“You’re going on a cruise?” I repeat.

“Yes, for five whole weeks! I seriously don’t know how he kept this a secret.”

“Because I’m not the one in this relationship who is incapable of not gossiping.” Pop’s voice is laced with amusement and affection.

Dad huffs and turns his attention back to me. “How exciting is this? Sun, sea, cocktails, and your pop in a tiny pair of swimming trunks.”

I blink slowly; I don’t really want to think about Pop in a tiny swimsuit.

Dad lets out a sigh of pure pleasure. “This is exactly what I need.”

“Well, I’m happy for you both. You deserve a break, you both work so hard. I hope you have fun. Send me a postcard from whatever port you’re in.”

“Of course we will,” Dad replies. “How are things going with you and the dreamy psychic PI?”

I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips. “No comment.”

“Boo, you’re no fun. Send me a picture of him.”

“You’re such a pervert.”

“Not an X-rated one.” He snorts. “Just a regular one.”

“Why?” I ask suspiciously.

“So I can have it printed on a T-shirt,” he says, and I can picture him rolling his eyes. “Why do you think? It’s so I can show people what my future son-in-law looks like.”

“Sweetheart, stop teasing him,” Pop chimes in the background, his voice echoing slightly. “This is the first time he’s got a boyfriend. Let’s not scare Harry off relationships just yet.”

I sigh. “I told you, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Uh-huh,” Dad says knowingly. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“Shouldn’t you be boarding a ship or something?”